Toronto Transit Commission chair Adam Giambrone may champion public transit but he has nothing against taxis, records of city councillors’ 2009 office expenses show.

Giambrone expensed more than $3,000 in cabs last year, including a trip home after taping an episode of his Ride the Rocket TV show on a streetcar.

About $2,400 came from his office budget, with the rest billed to the TTC.

Giambrone, like other councillors, has a city-provided Metropass. He also expensed $256 in tokens plus some weekly and monthly Metropasses for his staff, including $173.50 in July for “staff travel.”

One cab ride is billed as a “ward survey during the strike,” referring to last summer’s garbage strike.

For a second year, he also expensed private French lessons, although the $2,299.50 he spent was down from almost $4,000 in 2008. He said last year the expense was justified because he’s Toronto’s representative at AFMO, an association of French municipalities in Ontario and does interviews with Francophone media.

In total, the TTC chair spent $41,801.90 of his maximum $53,100 budget.

Giambrone (Ward 18, Davenport) dropped out of the mayoral race last month amid a sex scandal in which he lied to the Star about his relationship with a university student. He has since been defending his chairmanship of the TTC.

In an emailed response to questions from the Star, Giambrone wrote: “I am on the TTC 4-5 times a day and this is my main mode of transportation. Many people see me on the system everyday and can attest to this.”

He added that he walks, cycles, takes public transit and taxis to the many events he attends every day.

“Clearly there are not enough taxis bills submitted for this to be my main mode of transport. There are, however, sometimes when taxis are needed due to time constraints or what I am carrying with me (i.e. files). All expenses fit within the Council policy.”

The biggest spender on council was Michael Walker (Ward 22, St. Paul’s), who came within $48 of the limit. He announced last week that he is not seeking re-election in the October election.

The lowest spender was, as always in recent years, Rob Ford, who billed taxpayers for nothing, merely notifying city officials he spent $708.78 of his own money on council business.

“I’ve taken two cabs in 10 years of politics and I think they were for fundraising dinners after council,” said Ford, who is rumoured to be set to launch a mayoral campaign.

“He’s the TTC chair — how does it look that he’s taking cabs everywhere?”

Ford said the councillors’ office budgets, which don’t include $205,557.47 in another budget for the equivalent of three full-time staff members, is “nothing but a slush fund.”

He said he doesn’t expect other councillors to spend nothing but $20,000 would be more than enough to cover all legitimate expenses, saying the mail-outs, advertisements, skating parties and other similar expenses are “shameless self-promotion that don’t benefit the public.”

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